Darkness Ebbing
by Bleakshow
Summary: Master Cyclonis disappears, and the whole Atmos launches a search. Will the Storm Hawks find her, or will Dark Ace get to her first? It's better than it sounds!
1. Introduction

**Darkness Ebbing**

** Introduction**

Dark Ace entered his master's workroom. His red eyes lit up with anger when he saw Snipe. The idiot had made himself comfortable in Master Cyclonis' chair, and was eating a sandwich.

"Get off her throne." growled Dark Ace, reaching up towards his sword. "You're supposed to be searching!"

Snipe stood. "I don't see you searching. So Snipe isn't searching either." He crossed his arms across his massive chest.

"I'm not searching, because someone needs to keep idiots like you in check." Dark Ace roared, activating his sword millimetres from Snipe's face. "Now, I suggest you take your Talons and start searching." He continued, between clenched teeth.

Even Snipe could tell that this was more of a threat or an order than a suggestion. He grumbled to himself as he left.

This was ridiculous. Where was Master Cyclonis? Dark Ace let out a primal scream and kicked over a chair. Being in charge of these idiots was harder than he'd thought.

* * *

Every day, the Condor was flooded by birds delivering the various magazines, newspapers, alert and newsletters Piper had ordered in order to keep track of Cyclonis. The hangar bay was piled with them, and there was hardly any room for their skyrides.

"Can I get rid of this one?" Piper found a magazine shoved in her face. She nodded and Finn tossed the magazine out of the hangar.

"And this stack." Piper pointed. There was a scream as one of the delivery birds landed on the helmsmen, who thought they were all disease-ridden beasts. "No, on the left." She corrected Finn as he made his way over to the wrong one.

He pushed the pile over the edge and watched the papers flutter downwards. He jumped as he heard Piper yell: "I found something!"

"Didn't have to order so many to find it." Finn muttered. Piper had probably heard him and she thrust a newspaper at him: POSSIBLE LOCATION OF CYCLONIAN LEADER FOUND. The headline screamed, followed by a map. Finn stared at the page blankly, eyes wandering. Piper sighed; the blonde didn't seem to get it. She shook her head and ran off to match the picture with her charts.

"Hey! I was reading The Wasteland's tour dates!" Finn yelled, referring to one of the bands that he called his 'musical influence'.


	2. Chapter 1

Now that Piper had found the information she needed, the rest of the squadron had gotten rid of everything else. With the hangar bay finally clear, Junko was working on the skyrides. Finn was keeping him company, reading The Wasteland's tour dates, which he had ripped out of the newspaper.

Then Aerrow came in and got onto his skimmer.

"Where are you going, Aerrow?" Junko asked. Finn looked up from the page.

"To look for Cyclonis." The skyknight replied putting a crystal into his bike.

Piper, hearing this, came into the hangar bay. "And what are you going to do when you find her?"

Aerrow scratched the back of his neck. "I haven't exactly thought about that part. I was just gonna improvise, I guess"

Piper rolled her eyes. "This is Master Cyclonis, not a lost puppy, Aerrow." The redhead grinned sheepishly.

"Maybe you should get Junko to look too." Finn suggested.

"Exactly. We can all look. I'll go split the area into six pieces."

Finn took a moment to do the math, and then yelled "So… that includes me?"

* * *

Finn double checked the map Piper had given him before landing. Something just didn't seem right about the Terra. It was small, isolated, unnamed, and uninhabited; though Finn had a gut feeling that told him otherwise.

Despite a strange aura, Finn landed on the Terra anyways. His feet crunched on the gravel of a crude path. He guessed it led to the other side of the Terra. He could fell someone watching him, though Finn was sure there was no one else but him around.

The sharpshooter looked around, not sure what he was supposed to do. Should he call, or search the forest? Take his bike, or go by foot?

Suddenly, he heard rustling from deep inside the forest, followed by what he thought to be a twig snapping somewhere nearby. It couldn't have been the wind; the air was still and tense.

The blonde remained motionless, half hoping to hear the sound again so he could investigate. The other half wanted it to stop, so he could pass off the noises as the wind, or a harmless forest creature.

Just as he decided that he had been imagining things, something appeared on the path in front of him, a crystal. But before Finn could react, the crystal started smoking, filling his lungs with a heavy gas and blurring his vision.

He was unconscious before he hit the ground.


	3. Chapter 2

Stork landed the ship on the agreed Terra early. He still had some time before the others came back, so he decided to check up on everyone. No one had found anything so far, and Finn wasn't answering. Stork didn't worry too much though; it was probably one of the sharpshooter's stupid pranks. But none the less, Stork came up with horrible things that could have happened to Finn while he waited. The squadron entered just as Stork was imagining the Raptors using Finn as a dart board.

It had started raining, and everyone went to dry off. Junko was the first to notice that Finn was missing.

The Wallop looked around the bridge. "Uh, guys? Have you seen Finn?"

Piper and Aerrow hadn't noticed anything before, so they scanned the bridge before shrugging.

"You know, he wasn't answering my transmissions." Stork said. "I bet he's laying in the Wastelands with all his limbs broken, about to be eaten by a-" He stopped, seeing the looks of everyone else. "Or, he could have been kidnapped."

That didn't seem to cheer anyone up, especially Junko, who looked stricken.

"I'm sure he's just late." Aerrow said as brightly as he could, though he was worried too. Junko didn't seem convinced. "But maybe we should search, just in case."

"I still say the Raptors have got him." Stork muttered darkly.

* * *

This time, it was Ravess, practicing her violin. But at least she wasn't eating a sandwich, or sitting in the throne. The Dark Ace cleared his throat loudly. The playing stopped.

"Yes?" He could sense the irritation in her voice.

"Why are you here? Don't you have a room to practice in?"

"Of course. But this place has a good sound, don't you think?" She played a few notes. "And besides, I found information that you might find useful."

Dark Ace assumed she would continue. He wasn't about to threaten a woman, and Ravess had been searching almost the whole day.

But instead, she launched into a new song. "What was that important information you had for me?" He asked between clenched teeth. He knew Ravess was just trying to get on his nerves.

She turned to face the Dark Ace and pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. She held it out.

Dark Ace practically grabbed the paper from her, hoping that it wasn't some stupid joke. It was folded into a tiny square, which had to be unfolded carefully so as not to rip the thin paper. Dark Ace was impatient, and unfolding the paper a thousand times just frustrated him more.

He finally opened it and (despite a few rips) the picture was clear. He didn't even bother to tell Ravess to go practice somewhere else.


	4. Chapter 3

(A/N: Two chapters in one day? Wow, I'm on a roll! Must be the rain (rain inspires me)… Well, enjoy this long chapter!)

* * *

Finn woke up, coughing violently. He could still feel the smoke in his lungs. Looking around, he saw he'd been moved, but just barely. He could see a bit of the path through the trees.

Suddenly, he saw he wasn't alone. There was a girl looming over him. Her black hair was tied back, and she wasn't wearing her usual eyeliner, or her cloak. It made her look different, more her age. But there was no doubt that she was Master Cyclonis. He expected there to be a flash of lighting and booming thunder with the realization, but the weather was still nice.

The boy's blue eyes were wide with a mix of surprise and fear. He stopped coughing and took a few deep breaths. He closed his eyes and opened them again, but she was still there. He had so many questions to ask, but his mind picked out the simplest:

"Are you…real?"

"Of course I am, Storm Hawk." She spat.

He tried to remember what had happened. His memory was fuzzy, but he managed to figure out that Cyclonis had disappeared.

"Why aren't you in Cyclonia?" Finn asked, for it was obvious that she wasn't being held against her own will.

"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you immediately after." She replied simply, as if it were nothing.

"So, you're… not going to kill me now?" Finn wasn't sure whether to be relieved that she wasn't going to kill him anyways, or to be afraid.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have already done it." Finn noticed that her energy staff was right beside her, along with a huge pile of other things. She grinned evilly. "Besides, you might come in handy." She added.

It was silent for a moment; a sharpshooter and evil ruler didn't have much to talk about.

Suddenly, she got up and motioned for him to follow. She took him to the edge of the Terra, where his skimmer was still parked.

"Does your skimmer have any communication system?" She asked. Finn nodded. "Good. Throw it off the Terra."

"But I don't know how to disconnect it from the-" Finn began.

"Then you'll just have to toss the whole thing into the Wastelands." Cyclonis smiled.

* * *

There was no way to keep track of time on the Terra, but Finn spent a good while trying to claw the communication system off his skimmer without damaging the vehicle. But it soon became obvious that he wasn't going to be able to get it off. Cyclonis was watching closely, seeming to enjoy watching him suffer, so there was no way he would be able to get off the Terra without her noticing.

Finally, he gave up and kicked his bike over the edge. It was hard to believe that earlier today he had been throwing papers into the Wastelands.

"We're leaving." Finn whipped around at the sound of her voice. He was confused. How could they leave? He had just gotten rid of his skimmer, and Cyclonis didn't have any vehicles that he knew of.

"Where are we going?" Finn asked. Cyclonis replied with an un-nerving smile.

* * *

Finn staggered under the weight of everything he was carrying (all belonging to Master Cyclonis, of course). This was ridiculous. Not only did he have to carry what seemed like twice his weight, but he also had to hack through the forest. Cyclonis had decided that they should go through the deepest part of the forest, so they wouldn't be seen.

For once, he didn't even want to know what he looked like; probably a sweaty mess, with bloody fingernails and covered in scratches. Not to mention his back, which was killing him. Cyclonis had made Finn go in front of her, and had kept urging him forward by poking the boy with her staff. As if he were a cow, and she was using a cattle prod. At least it wasn't electric.

Finn saw the edge of the Terra first. He didn't stop though, not wanting to be poked again. As he was beginning to think that she would make him walk right off the edge of the Terra, she ordered him to stop. What now? They couldn't get off the Terra without falling into the Wastelands.

Finn dropped the bag, hardly caring what was in it and how it landed. He had his hands on his knees, and was panting heavily. He was about to drop too. Cyclonis opened one of the pockets and pulled something out of it.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked, holding it up. Finn looked up.

"Crystal." Finn replied, using as few words as possible.

"Aren't you a quick one?" Cyclonis said dryly. "Do you know what _kind_ of crystal this is? What it does?"

"No… clue." Finn panted.

"It's a teleportation crystal." She explained, grinning.

Finn resisted the urge to smack himself in the face or to scream at her. He just gave her the worst glare he dared.

"Soyouhadthat (pant) crystalthewhole (pant) timeandyou (pant) mademe (cough) walkallthatway?" He had taken a moment to breathe before talking, but he was still exhausted. Cyclonis, who had understood, just nodded.

"Why?" He practically screamed.

"Because it was fun to watch." The girl smirked.


	5. Chapter 4

_A young Cyclonis yanked at her cape, trying to untangle it from the bushes. There was a tearing sound, and the girl pulled her ripped cape out of the thorns. At the sound of the rip, a leaper darted from the bushes, startled by the sound._

_Cyclonis cried out in delight. Ever since her father had taken over Terra Gale, she hadn't seen any animals, except for the Talons._

_She got on her hands and knees and crawled towards the leaper. She called softly to it, and it stared at her with frightened eyes. Her cape was already ripped, and stains on her jumpsuit wouldn't matter now; she would get new clothes anyways. _

_Suddenly, the leaper was flung off to the side, and Cyclonis was now looking at a pair of black boots. She looked up to see her father._

_He pulled her up roughly. "Are you feeding that annoying creature?" He hissed. Petrified, Cyclonis shook her head. "If you are one day to take over Cyclonia, you can't show mercy."_

_The girl nodded, still feeling sorry for the poor leaper. To the young girl's horror, her father made his way towards the leaper. It was struggling to get back up, writhing and twisting on the ground. He prodded it with his foot, until it rolled into the wastelands. He grinned smugly as the animal's screeches faded._

Cyclonis woke up tangled in her sheets. She tried to wiggle out of the mess of bed sheets, but she ended up falling out of bed, landing with a thud on the floor. Luckily, she fell onto the floor on the opposite side of the bed from the Storm Hawk. She squirmed and twisted, feeling like the leaper in her dream.

She finally managed to stand up and heap her sheets onto the bed. The boy had fallen asleep right on the floor as soon a she threw him a pillow. They were in the last available hotel room, the one with only one bed. She was disguised, and had insisted he do the same.

Cyclonis couldn't sleep, so she flipped on the television, not caring if she woke Finn up. It seemed every channel mentioned her in some way. And they somehow had her previous location correct. They were a little late, but Cyclonis couldn't help but worry, what if they caught up? She wasn't ready to go back, and she wasn't sure she would ever be. She flicked off the television, tired of hearing speculations and theories involving her disappearance.

As Cyclonis headed towards the small table for coffee, she caught a glimpse of her disguise. Her blonde hair was a mess, her blue eyes had dark circles around them, but she didn't look a thing like herself.

Running to the bathroom, Cyclonis put her hair into pigtails. Maybe she could live as Lark. Nobody would recognize her. Except maybe the Storm Hawks, but they wouldn't be a problem. She smiled into the mirror as pleasantly as she could, though it was still more of a smirk.

Stork's eye started twitching at insane speeds when the Storm Hawks entered the bridge. "I'm not cleaning that." He said, indicating the mud and water that they had tracked in.

"Give us a break Stork." Aerrow said, as Radarr offered him a towel. "We've been searching all day." He dried his red hair, tossing the towel onto the round table.

"Did you find anything?" Stork asked, turning to the Condor's controls.

Piper shook her head as she drew an x on her charts. "We found his skimmer in the wastelands."

Nobody noticed Stork grin evilly, as he was facing away from Aerrow and Piper

"There's no sign of Finn, though." Aerrow added hopefully. "No parachute or clothing. Just his skimmer."

"And his skimmer was so close to the edge of the Terra." Piper though out loud. "And it was in bike… "

"So he could have been shot down." Aerrow finished.

"So maybe he transformed early?" Piper suggested.

Aerrow shook his head. "He's not the best pilot, but he's no amateur. And that still wouldn't explain where Finn went."

Piper sighed and started working on the search plan for the next day.

Meanwhile, Junko was working on Finn's ride. From the damage, he guessed it had fallen, from pretty high up. He decided to start by figuring out what parts he needed. He made a list, and tried to figure out how much it would cost, unsuccessfully. All he knew is that it would cost a lot, probably more than they had.

Just one more reason to find Cyclonis, the reward. Even Aerrow, who would normally refuse, and say that he was a skyknight and was just trying to help, would probably take the money. They needed it. Not only for repairing Finn's skimmer (though it would take up a large portion of the money, seeing how it got completely trashed in almost every battle), but also for the Condor. The airship was getting old, and parts needed to be replaced, updated and improved.

* * *

(A/N: Does anyone know what the ages of the Storm Hawks are? Warning: Lots of numbers ahead! First I heard that Piper and Aerrow were 14, Finn was 15, Junko was 16, and Stork was in his early 20's, which I think is right. Then I heard Junko was 15 and Stork was exactly 20. But I recently heard that all the Storm Hawks are 14, except Stork, who is 17. So Piper and Aerrow are 14 for sure, Finn is 14/15, Junko is 14/15/16, and Stork is 17/20/20-something? Then Starling is in her early 20's, Dark Ace in his late 20's, Cyclonis is 14, Ravess is 28, Snipe is 32 and no one seems to care about the Raptor's ages. Gah! So confusing…)


End file.
